Birth Of The Cruel
by BornVillain42
Summary: In a world filled with superheroes, one such world exists where they are viewed as celebrities, only as hired mercenaries for the government to do their dirty work. Along with the much more sinister missions not released to the public, one such group exists to keep everyone else in line. But when Civil War looms, one must take a stand in a violent world to put them in their place.
1. Nothing I Need

**First story, and I am pumped! Choosing to set this within the Arrowverse, but this is a purely original story with my own OC's and ideas. Enjoy!**

**BornVillain Productions Presents…**

Birth Of The Cruel

Chapter 1: Nothing I Need

"Do you have any idea who I am? I have powerful friends that can make your life a living hell!"

The man before him scoffed, raising his hand in front of his face, like a ninja about to chop a karate board in half.

"I'm well aware." He said. "But how can you speak for them when you're already dead?" The other man glared at him through swollen eyes.

"You will pay for this Graves. Raynor will have your head on a stick in front of the White House!" He screamed. The man known as Graves only grinned. A female to his right with fiery red hair only watched intently.

"It's Joey." The man said. "Joseph Graves to be precise. And the last thing you're going to see is me...looking down on you as you die." Joey said before chopping his lit hand down across his victims skull.

Blood spattered across his hand and black leather jacket. The man went limp in his chair. All the female could do was smile.

"It's like art." She said. Joey smirked, brushing his bloodied hand across her face.

"I'm no Van Gogh, but that's another masterpiece with one of Raynor's goons." The girl touched the blood on her face and sighed, almost like the breath was taken out of her.

"Beautiful." She said. At that moment, another man walked into the interrogation room. He wore a messy black sport coat and a blue tie over a white t-shirt. His black jeans had tribal markings on them in white paint.

"Is it done?" He asked, his jet black hair glistening in the dim light.

"Just in time Allen." Joey said "We got another one." The girl only smiled. Allen only facepalmed.

"Jesus Joey...you're making Dahlia look like she's on bloody ecstasy." He scoffed. Joey scoffed as he dragged the body into the nearby incinerator.

"You act like it's my fault she enjoys other people's pain. She rips peoples faces off for fun god damnit!" He only giggled playfully, like an immature child.

"Tell me something I don't know." Allen said shaking his head. Joey ignored his friends remark and tossed the body into the incinerator.

Another member of the team stepped into after Joey slammed the door shut. He wore a butchered Varsity jacket with the name "Dalton" on it in red paint. He was the more muscular of the group, which explained a lot considering his powers.

"Oh, hey Max." Dahlia said.

"That's the third one this month Joey. Don't you got anything better to do than take jobs from people Raynor's fucked off?" Max said.

"Chill out Varsity." Said another voice at the back of the room. It belonged to Damian "Battery" Braxton, the groups weapons expert. Though he didn't have any powers, he was a crack shot with any gun he held. The only catch was his addiction to a secret steroid that slowed one's heart rate, allowing him to shoot better.

"Why should I chill? If I wanted that, I'd be doing my dirty laundry with Absolute Zero." Dalton scoffed, referencing one of the more popular ice heroines in New York.

"Yeah, and risk having your balls frozen off." Joey said laughing. Max shot him a look, but couldn't help but snicker. Their humor was later broken up when Dahlia raised a letter from her hands.

"Hey, guys. We got another assignment." She said.

"What's up?" Allen said raising an eyebrow. Dahlia read the letter quickly before tossing it aside.

"Looks like the sister needs our help again." She groaned.

"Again with Iris? Can't The Nameless do anything for themselves?" Battery scoffed. The Nameless was another super hero mercenary group. Along with Joey's team of Nero Forte, they often worked together when hired by government officials to do their dirty work when nobody wanted to do it themselves.

"You gotta remember Jack landed himself in the ER again. He got clipped in the eyes with smoke rounds the last time we went after rogues." Joey said stretching his hands. Allen nodded.

"Touche." He added.

"What about Derek?" Battery asked. Dahlia shrugged.

"The last time he dated a Hawthorne, it didn't work out so well. Granted he's still in the group, but his lack of empathy is starting to get my sisters group the wrong kind of attention." Dahlia said.

"Fair enough." Joey said. "I'll go help them out. I need to loosen up a little bit anyway."

"Don't get yourself killed mate." Allen reminded him. Joey only smirked as his left hand became engulfed in flames.

"Got one less problem than bein' butchered." He said.

**Elsewhere….**

As she looked at the board full of pictures, Iris smirked,

"Lovely." She said, before turning her attention to the door as Joey stepped in."

"Mornin' luv." Joey said looking at Iris. "'Sup Derek."

"Hey." Derek replied as he continued playing his video games. Iris brushed her hair back behind her ear.

"Hey, Joey." She said.

"You sent for one of us?" Joey asked. "Thought we was gonna pull another raid." Iris only grinned.

"Nope." She said. "Something better."

"Well, you have my attention." Joey said as he leaned back in a nearby chair. Derek paused his game and tossed Joey a beer.

"We're taking it up a notch. Gonna let folks know that we're back, and in for some buisness." He said.

"And they said you weren't a Vader." Iris teased. Joey took a swig of his drink and stood up.

"What do we got?" He asked. "Clearly this about Stormfront, so elaborate." Iris pushed Joey back into his seat, running her finger down his chest as he did so. All Derek could do was snicker, even though he was Iris' ex.

"You're right on that one. And no Derek. We are not simply going to kill them for the fun of it." Iris reprimanded. Derek rolled his eyes, as his attempt to read Iris' mind was a complete botch.

"Shit." He said. Even though he also had telekinesis, telepathy was his preferred favorite along with his raw strength.

"What're you suggesting Iris?" Joey said raising an eyebrow. Iris' lips curved into a smile, one that would make the Joker blush.

"Blackmail." Joey and Derek's faces went white as Iris flipped her picture board over to reveal even more pictures. This time, instead of the faces of Stormfronts members, it was pictures of the group engaging in reckless debauchery. And not the good kind.

"Holy shit." Derek said.

"And I thought I was nuts." Joey said

**First chapter is done! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Leave a review and tell me what you think. Cheers!**

**-BornVillain**


	2. Gonna Make Them Weep

**New Chapter! Enjoy!**

Chapter 2: Gonna Make Them Weep

"This is fuckin' madness." Joey said as he flipped through the pictures. "How did you get these?" Iris only flipped her hair back, like she was teasing him.

"I had some of my people bug one of the places they stay at. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it." She replied.

"No shit." Joey said. "Get a load of this one. This one's got BJ into that bondage bullshit." Derek looked at one of his pictures.

"Forget that." Vader said snickering. "Here's one with their leader with a fucking dick up his ass!"

"That Ryan?" Joey said laughing. "This is hilarious!"

"What's the plan Joey? I know you detest the members of Stormfront...what do you want to do?" Iris asked. Joey thought for a minute...before he grinned.

"Ya got any cardboard and box tape?" Joey asked.

**2 Weeks Later…**

The members of Nero Forte and The Nameless all crowded around the TV in Joey's apartment, patiently waiting for the surprise that was in store for their victims.

"How the hell does it take 2 weeks for these jokers to get a package?" Allen scoffed.

"Postal service sucks." Battery joked. Dahlia facepalmed.

"Why couldn't we just drop it off at their front door?" She said. 'Eyeless' Jack Spencer, The Nameless' third member scoffed as scraped some of his black goop off of his mask. He couldn't control his condition, even though it annoyed him and his allies when he had to clean black sludge off of anything. The only bright side was that his powers allowed him to manipulate said sludge to such a degree, he could form weapons with it.

"Because those jack holes would catch us and then they'd off us. Better to do it the old fashioned way and risk not getting caught." He said. Iris nodded, but she wasn't as proud as she was before. She was quiet, almost nervous.

"SHH!" Varsity said. "It's happening!"

Watching on the TV, they watched their leader, Ryan Albott pick up the package and bring it inside to their main table.

"Hey fellas! We got mail!" He shouted

"More fan service?" A voice replied.

"I dunno." Said another member with blades sticking out of his hands. Bladed Jake, as he was called. "There's no return address on this."

"Could be from the feds, giving us another assignment." Said another. It was Poison, the team sniper with his acid powers. As the other members of Stormfront filed in, Ryan shot Jake a look.

"BJ, you mind?" He asked. Nodding, he used one of his claws to cut the box open.

"Let's see what we go-" His voice trailed off.

"What is it?" Said Ted Stone, known as Stonewall. He was literally a walking pile of rocks.

Ryan snatched the pictures from Jake's hands, took one look, and slammed them on the table.

"What the hell is this?!" He snapped. The other members took notice and started scrounging through the pictures, each one more horrified and more horrifying than the next.

"Stonewall you mother fucker, you stole drugs from a children's hospital?!" Shouted Wolfman, who was literally a human-wolf.

"How the hell did you…" He was cut off by Poison, their marksman with acid powers.

"What about this? You wanna tell me about that?!" He barked. It was a picture of Ryan beating up a black-haired woman. Though the secret camera couldn't pick it up, it looked a lot like Iris.

"What the fucking shit Ryan?! You're a woman beater?!" Meanwhile, Joey and his unit were laughing like a group of schoolchildren watching an adult comedy act.

"Forget that!" Stonewall said. "Here's another one of you with a giant cock up your arse!"

"But that's not...that's not me! It can't be!" Ryan stammered in denial.

"BS." Jake said. I know that facial expression better than anyone...you ain't fooling anybody!

"Go fuck yourself, Jake." Ryan snapped. "You're the sick asshole licking his own his own piss stains off a strap on."

"You're forgetting all this nice wide angle of stuff of Poison judging the rug munching competition." Wolfman joked

"Alright...ENOUGH!" Ryan shouted. The members of Stormfront, all red in the face and infuriated sat down.

"Look, it's no secret we've done some terrible shit. But we take those secrets to the grave. Now did a note come with any of these?" He asked. Wolfman slashed open the box, and caught a piece of paper.

"Fuck me." He said.

"Well, what's it say?" BJ pressed him.

"One of you gets thrown to the wolves. I decide tomorrow, and you decide today." He read.

Joey beamed proudly at his remark. Allen gave him a look and shook his head.

"That the best you could come up with?" He questioned. Joey shrugged.

"Short, sweet, and to the point." He replied.

"Can you yahoo's shut up? I wanna hear this." Battery snapped.

"BJ. It oughta be BJ." Stonewall stammered.

"Why the fuck?!" Jake snapped.

"Bondage...granted it's humiliating, but publically it's survivable," Stonewall replied meekly.

"Eat my ass." Jake spat. Joey on the other hand, was no longer paying attention to the TV as his comrades laughed. He watched as Iris walked away, shyly and slowly. Standing up, he tapped her shoulder as she walked outside.

"Iris...you alright?" He asked. Iris looked down, almost like she was a shy schoolgirl trying to approach her crush.

"No...I'm fine." She said.

"You don't look fine." Joey crossed his arms. "Two weeks ago before you pulled this stunt, you were about as amped up as your sister would be if she ripped some jokers bollocks off. Now, you're all shy again. Are you not telling me something?" He asked. Joey's normally stone-cold demeanor was almost no longer there, he looked more sympathetic, almost sad that Iris did not seem like herself.

"I'm just nervous...what are they going to do if they find out the truth?" She asked, a nervous look in her eyes. Joey held her shoulders.

"We'll be fine." He said. "Just go back in the house. Trust me...this will all end okay." Iris smiled, nodded and walked back inside.

Joey, however, noticed bruising on her upper neck and shoulder. And he recognized the type of bruising. Before he could question Iris about it, his phone rang.

"Go ahead." Joey said coldly.

"We've made our choice." The voice on the other end said. Joey listened intently before he hung up.

Intrigued, he pulled up additional footage Iris had recorded on his phone, watching it intently to make sure his suspicions were right. His suspicions about Ryan were proven correct.

Enraged, he threw his phone halfway across the street before pulling out one of his burner phones.

"Yeah? ABC News? I got a story for ya, and the evidence to back it up." Joey said, his lips curling into a sinister smirk.

**Another one cranked out! Gonna try and keep putting these out as quick as I can. See you all in the next one.**

**-Born Villain**


	3. Reflections

Chapter 3: Reflections

"-that being said, I have to publicly announce that I…" Stonewall froze on his words. "I'm a drug addict. I've stolen meds, painkillers, anything I can get my hands on to feed my problems. Sadly, my addiction has also led to me stealing from a-" He continued before Jack eventually shut off the TV.

"Garbage." He muttered. "Can't stand the crap the feds churn out for them to say." Derek facepalmed.

"What the hell man? I was watching that!" Vader complained. Jack shook his head.

"I don't wanna hear it. If I do, I'm gonna bash me fuckin' head in the wall." He said grimly. Joey stood up.

"Just turn it back on, Jack. I need to see how it finishes out." He said.

"Wheres Iris?" Derek asked.

"She's with Dahlia getting their hair done." Joey said smugly. Jack groaned as he turned the TV back on.

"Woman." He said. The camera had panned to Ryan, who looked stone faced as he was interviewed in front of the camera.

"What is the fate of Stonewall's membership in Stormfront?" The reporter asked. Ryan shrugged.

"We're shipping him off to rehab in the coming days. If he doesn't get his act together, he will be forced to leave. Let's call it an indefinite leave at the moment." Ryan said giving the camera a nod.

"I see." The reporter said. "Now can you tell me about the recent allegations of you being a woman beater?" Ryan's eyes went wide.

"What did you say?" He said quietly, and threateningly.

"Uh oh." Derek said leaning forward. Joey on the other hand said nothing, only clenching his fists.

Before Ryan could lose his temper, one of President Raynor's agents grabbed Ryan and pulled him away.

"No further comment." He said said quickly before hauling he and the rest of Stormfront away from the crowd as they began to get pressed about the allegations against Ryan.

"What the fuck?" Max said as he walked into the room. "How'd they find out about that?"

"Beat's me." Jack said smugly. The group all turned to Joey, who did not take his eyes off the television.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Max said glaring at his friend.

"So?" Joey said. Jack punched the kitchen table.

"So...you just made a bad situation worse, idiot!" He snapped.

"Look on the bright side." Joey said with a scoff. "Stormfront is beyond fucked. We don't gotta deal with it!"

"B freakin' S." Derek said. "If they find out you was the one that leaked that shit to the press…" Joey waved him off.

"Talk to my lawyer." He scoffed.

"We don't even have a lawyer." Max said crossing his arms.

"Exactly." Joey said before slamming his door shut. Max facepalmed.

"Idiot." He said again.

"What is it with him and Iris? He seems more protective of her these days." Derek noted. Max shrugged.

"I don't know man. Don't tell me you're getting soft on her again." He joked. Derek flipped him off.

"I'm a telepath, I'm not a freak." He muttered. Max shook his head again.

"Be that as it may, Joey needs to get his act together." He said. Allen walked into the room shortly thereafter.

"Are you guys betting men?" He asked. "I think Joey is slowly getting the hots for Iris."

"Now that you mention it...it is starting to show." Derek scratched his head. Max on the other hand, said nothing.

Meanwhile, in his room, Joey laid down on his bed. All he could think about was what he saw on his phone. The footage of Ryan hitting Iris the way he did, it made him want to throw up.

Staring at his ceiling, Joey gazed into nothingness. The feeling of not being able to save her in that moment made him sick. He didn't feel like he was developing feelings for Iris, but he wasn't sure. He really didn't want her to know about them either. She would drop him like a sack of garbage if she found out.

Staring at his hand, he tried summoning a flame, but couldn't. Groaning, he walked into his bathroom and looked into the mirror.

"What the hell is happening to me?" He said to himself. His eyes looked sunken in, like he hadn't slept in days. Sighing, he splashed some cold water on his face and once again stared at his reflection.

"Get it together Graves." He said shaking his head. But as he finished his sentence, he saw Iris in the mirror, tightly gripping his chest.

"I'm here." She said quietly.

"Iris...I…" Joey shivered.

"It's okay." She said. Her voice made Joey shiver, the hairs on his neck standing up as sharp as needles. As he reached down to hold her arms, he felt nothing. All he was gripping was the air.

Staring back at his reflection, Iris was gone. Joey felt his face get hot, and an empty feeling punched him right in the gut.

"I won't let anyone hurt you." He said staring at the floor.

**The Following Day….**

The teams all sat in the living room, watching reruns of "1000 Ways To Die". Joey eventually walked in after coming out of his room. He looked more refreshed than he did the day before, but it was clear something was not right with him.

"Iris...you mind taking a walk with me?" Joey asked. The second of the Hawthorne twins raised her head.

"Sure." She said as she followed Joey out. Allen raised an eyebrow.

"What's Joey's deal? He's been acting funny since we blackmailed Stormfront." He said. Battery shook his head meekly.

"Let them go Allen." He said, but the teams dark magician wasn't sure.

As the two walked along the sidewalk, Joey looked around them before turning his attention to Iris.

"I like your hair." He said with a smile. Iris giggled.

"Thank you." She said. "I only got it straighter and more highlighted with the black." She said. Joey nodded before he dropped the question.

"Why was Ryan Albott beating you the way he was in that footage?" Joey said grimly.

"Is that what this is about?" Iris asked. Joey stopped walking. The two were now alone in a small alleyway near the house

"Yes." He said. Iris said and brushed some of her hair back.

"After I broke up with Derek, randomly one night, I met Ryan. He took me to his place, and after he put things together, realizing I was The Nameless' leader, he started to.." Iris choked on her words, like she was about to start crying.

"Hey...stop that." Joey held her shoulders. "He can't hurt you anymore."

"I don't want you to tell me that." Iris sniffed. "I just don't want to see his fist before I close my eyes." Hearing Iris talk like that hurt Joey, like he'd been smacked across the face with a sledgehammer.

"He will never touch you again." Joey said, his voice more stern than before. "If he does…" Joey didn't finish his sentence as he wiped a small tear from Iris' face. Iris flinched as he did so, like she was scared. Joey quickly pulled his hand away.

"I'm sorry...I.." He started to say. Iris shook her head.

"No...it's fine." She said. The two were extremely close, their faces mere inches away. Iris looked at Joey's chest before starting back into his eyes. Joey's stomach was in knots, and his legs felt tight.

"Do I scare you?" He asked.

"No." Iris said, though she wasn't sure if she was being truthful with that statement.

"You seem nervous." Joey observed, his mouth twitching into a grin, which he tried his hardest to remove, but couldn't.

"I'm not nervous." Iris said, matching his smirk. Without even looking or thinking about it, she slowly slid her hand up the brick wall. Joey took notice, and, not even thinking himself, interlaced his fingers, engulfing her hand with his own.

Iris' normally white face turned blush red. Joey's face felt like it was on fire. Here they were, the leaders of Nero Forte and The Nameless, holding hands. Anybody could walk in on them. The moment between the two of them felt like forever.

That is, until they heard a door slam open, and close shut again. A drunk man was tossed out a nearby bar, landing onto the pavement with a loud smack. He did not stand up, quietly groaning where he lay.

Iris quickly pulled away from their tight grip, brushing her hair behind her ear and blushing like crazy.

"Uh...you wanna go back home?" Joey said trying to find his words.

"Y...yeah." She said giggling. Joey nodded and the two started walking home. All Joey could think about was how it felt to have her hand in his. Looking back at her one more time, he saw her looking up at him smiling, before she quickly turned away. Joey smirked.

"Your move, Iris." He thought. What the duo didn't know, was that somebody was watching them from high above. His blades tightly in place on a nearby skyscrapers walls.

"Boss will flip when he sees this." Bladed Jack thought to himself

**This one was super fun to write, and my first take at flirting. Hope you guys enjoyed it, see you in the next one**

**-Born Villain**


	4. Hunting The Prey

**Had to take a couple days off, a bunch of personal crap to take care of. Enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 4: Hunting The Prey

Joey and Iris did not mention their moment to their friends, but everyone could still see that something was there between the two, even if nobody said anything.

It had been another week since Stormfront's shenanigans were exposed to the media, and the firestorm surrounding it was not letting up. As Allen and Battery watched the news, now reporting that all the members were missing, their HQ seemingly abandoned and later vandalized.

"This is bigger than I thought." Battery said. Allen raised an eyebrow as he took a drag off his cigarette.

"I'd go with worse. All we gotta do is pray these wankers don't go out hunting for us, even if they do find out." He reminded. Battery nodded, his pale skin almost way to bright to even be comfortable, a side effect of the performance steroid he used.

"Touche good sir." He said smugly. Joey eventually walked into the room, stretching his arms.

"'Sup fellas." He said.

"Oh!" Allen shot up off the couch. "Somebody called a few minutes ago. They got a job, said they wanted to talk to you." He said handing Joey his phone.

"So it's been said." He raised an eyebrow as he opened up his phone and answered it. "Graves." Joey said.

"Hey Graves. Been awhile." The voice on the other line said. Joey smirked.

"Well I'll be damned." Joey said. "Aaron Myers." Aaron was a longtime friend/spy for Joey and his team. Despite being a member of Raynor's elite guard in the White House, he was the secret mole for Nero Forte, aiding them in their fight against the government's secrecy.

"Heard you was looking for work. Tired of hunting some of Raynor's guards?" Aaron joked. Joey laughed.

"You could say that, but it sounds like something Max would say." He remarked. Aaron snickered.

"Well, I've got a pretty big hit for you. You remember Billy Lawson?" Aaron asked. Joey remembered that name like the palm of his hand.

Billy Lawson was an infamous serial killer in New York, known for hunting super powered children and killing them. Joey and his unit were hired by Absolute Zero to take him out as she was injured at the time. The original price was $5 million for the hit, and nobody was to know about it.

By the time Joey's unit located Lawson, the cops beat them to him. But Billy had the most sinister looking smirk as he was arrested, the kind that made someone think he knew something that somebody else didn't. The feds already had enouh evidence to book him for one murder, but they also located a shack that had all the evidence they needed for another six murders. But a week before the trial, the shack was blown up without any explanation. Despite the fact that they had concrete evidence, Aaron later found out after the trial Raynor bought off the judge to give Billy a lighter sentence in a mental hospital until he was "cured".

As a result, Nero Forte didn't get any money, or justice. It was just another notch in their badge to take down Raynor. Why she bought the judge off, nobody knew why.

"Yeah. Don't wanna think about it. Why?" Joey asked.

"One of my guys found out where he's staying. Turns out the feds let him go, said he's 'cured'." Aaron explained. "I know you well enough to know that it's all a sham. I want you and your unit to off this piece of shit. $2 million for it." He said. Joey thought about it for a second, before he smirked.

"Allen, Battery, go get Dahlia. We're going hunting." Joey said with a grin.

**2 Hours Later…**

"Y'know I'm a little shocked we were able to find this joker so easily." Battery said as the group walked in the long grass to Billy's cabin hideout.

"Very Texas Chainsaw Massacre like, this place." Allen said as he flicked away another cigarette. Battery leaned back against a chair, clutching his sniper rifle close to his chest.

"Alright, me, Dahlia and Allen are gonna go in for a closer look. Do not fire unless we yell at you to do it, get me?" Joey said. Battery leaned back and nodded.

"Aye aye." He said.

The trio then slowly made their way to Billy's shack, keeping a sharp eye to make sure nothing was rigged. The closer they got, the easier it was.

"Can't believe this wanker didn't booby trap his house." Allen said as he prepared a small spell in his hands. "You would think he would, being a high profile serial killer."

"Maybe he wants to be caught again." Dahlia said quietly. Joey shook his head as they kept on walking.

"Don't be so naive, Dahlia." He said, "Billy might be a deadly killer, but he's got the brain of a five year old."

"Explains his strange behavior at his sentencing when you think about it." Allen added.

"Understandable." Dahlia said as she put her hair up. Approaching the cabin, Joey and his unit froze.

"Can you sense him Allen?" Joey whispered. Summoning his spell, Allen closed his eyes and thought for a second.

"Yes. He's in the basement." He replied.

"We got a problem." Dahlia said as she peered through one of the windows. She was right.

Staring at one of the walls, she saw bloodied childrens clothing, and fingers, way too many to be just one person. It was point blank evidence that Billy was at it again. All Joey needed was one look before he vomited.

"Son of a bitch mate!" Allen snapped.

"Would you like a bucket?" Dahlia said with a childish grin. Joey spat in the grass.

"No…" He groaned. "Let's waste this asshole." Joey snarled.

**Hope you guys liked this one! Sorry about the delay, see you in the next one.**

**-Born Villain**


	5. Sit and Stay

**Finally got another chapter out. Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Sit and Stay

Down in the basement of their house, Varsity and Derek were busy scanning their computers, checking the news stations over and over to see if anybody was either after them, or out of line.

"You are without a doubt the most paranoid *censored* I've ever met." Derek said with an irritating scowl. Max only shrugged.

"I'd rather be paranoid than give in to Dahlia's violent tendencies." He joked. Derek leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Eh….she's a unique individual." Derek said meekly. Max raised an eyebrow as he took out a cigarette.

"Care to elaborate?" He asked. Derek facepalmed.

"I thought you quit smoking." Vader said. Max scoffed.

"Yeah...quitting is for chumps." He said as he lit one up and took a drag from it. Derek shrugged.

"Suit yourself man." He said. As Derek flipped through the channels on the radio, he frowned.

"You wanna go hunting?" He asked. Max raised an eyebrow.

"We got a target?" Max said as he flicked his cigarette away. Vader pulled their target up on the screen.

"Yup." He leaned back in his chair. "Arim and Boom caught this *censored* murdering a homo."

"Crime against humanity eh? Those pride jokers would flip their lid if they found out he got pushed off a roof." Max said bitterly

"Police say it was a suicide. But I know better, and that's thanks to Arim for catching it." Derek said.

Arim and Boom were the new popular duo within the superhero scene after Splashdown and his sidekick Hydro left. Both groups were familiar with Nero Forte and The Nameless and had worked together every now and then but with the latter duo retiring, Arim and Boom took their place.

As it turned out, and old ally of Splashdown known as Orion was the prime suspect in the gay mans murder. The victim, Stephen Pax reportedly knew Orion, and was murdered by him for reasons unknown

"Interesting." Max said. "I've never cared for the whole 'pride' thing, but murdering one of those jack wholes to cover evidence? That's a powder keg ready to blow."

"You wanna go teach him a lesson?" Vader said as he cracked his knuckles. Max shrugged.

"Let's go to work." He said. Derek started laughing.

"Finally gettin' you outta your paranoia shell Max?" Vader said. Max flipped him off.

"Shut up." He said.

**Later….**

As a young man, no older than 24 turned his keys in the door lock, he opened the door, only to find two men standing in his apartment. One wearing his notorious Varsity jacket, the other wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Hello governor." Derek said grinning. "You wouldn't happen to know a Stephen Pax by any chance would ya?"

"Who the fuck are you?" The man asked.

"The question is...Orion...who's Stephen to you?" Max said. Without warning, Orion fired an energy blast at the duo before darting upstairs.

"Get him!" Derek barked as he darted after him. It didn't take much longer before they reached the rooftop of his apartment.

"Whatever you think I did...you're gravely mistaken." Orion said.

"Can't be too far gone. You really should've tried covering your tracks better." Derek said as he backed up, keeping his fists at the ready.

"You don't know who you're up against." Orion snarled, his teeth barred.

"I'm pretty sure I do. Max!" Vader snapped. Jumping off a nearby rooftop, Max superman punched Orion so hard, two of his teeth fell out. Derek smirked.

"Pay's good when you're a telepath. They never see it comin'." He said. Orion spat out blood and growled as his fists glowed red.

"Alright. You wanna dance? Let's…" His words were cut off when a rope spear went right through his chest. Orion sputtered blood on his words as he looked down.

"Ah...great." Max said cracking his knuckles.

Whipped around like an angry bull, Orion was again hit with a left hook that knocked his jaw clean off. Orion fell onto the pavement with a sickening smack, deader than a deer in headlights. Immediately afterwards, the two men stood up both of them wearing black combat outfits, though each had different lights, like characters out of Tron Legacy.

"Arim. Boom." Max said crossing his arms. The duo removed their masks, revealing twin brothers no older than 20. Arim had the neon green lining and a buzzcut, Boom had navy blue lining on his suit and a spiky black flat top.

"Been a while fella's." Arim said.

"But did ya have to kill him?" Max said, a slight smirk forming on his face. Boom looked at his spear, and shrugged.

"Gotta make 'em weep remember?" He said.

"Fair enough." Max replied, before he got a call on his phone. It was Jack.

"Yo, what's up?" Max said.

"Aye, you hear what Joey's doin'?" He said.

"Yeah, he's going after that Lawson killer. What of it?" Max asked. Arim and Boom frowned.

"Joey's going after Billy Lawson?" Arim questioned.

"Get your lazy asses over to Lawson's warehouse. And mate...have we got a surprise for you guys." Jack laughed before he hung up. Max facepalmed.

"You boys wanna tag along? Should be interesting." He said. Boom shrugged.

"Works for me But what're we gonna do about this body?" Boom said. Derek shrugged.

"Forget it." He said. "At least we don't gotta worry about any cameras." He said as he used his powers to toss the body into a nearby dumpster.

"You know somebody's gonna flip their lid when they find that." Arim remarked. Derek shrugged.

"Even if someone does, the press will find a way to spin it somehow." He said bitterly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max said raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know. Fuck 'em." Vader said.

**This took me way too long, but I've been in a huge writers block lately. See you guys in the next one!**

**-BornVillain**


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